Man killed, father injured when lightning bolt hit tree

Wednesday

LAKE WORTH — Authorities say a bolt of lightning during a Florida thunderstorm may be responsible for killing a 39-year-old man and critically injuring his father.

Palm Beach County sheriff's officials tell news outlets that lightning struck an Australian pine in Lake Worth on Tuesday afternoon as Antonio Miranda and his 71-year-old father Enrique Miranda were clearing brush.

Investigators say the men were standing near the tree's base when three bolts of lightning struck. The electricity knocked them off their feet.

The father called 911 and both men were taken to a hospital.

The medical examiner's office will do an autopsy to determine the official cause of Antonio Miranda's death.

Last month a landscaper was killed by lightning in Broward County. Lightning also struck and killed a farm worker there in May.

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